Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hello all, I am new to this forum. I have been a strict vegan since November 2011 and working out since January. I had a question regarding my weight training split.

Mondays: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Tuesday: Cardio/Rest
Wednesday: Back and Biceps
Thursday: Cardio/Rest
Friday: Legs/Back
Saturday: Chest and Biceps
Sunday: Off

I workout chest and biceps twice just because i feel they need more work than anything else. Please critique this schedule....Good, Bad, and the Ugly. Thanks.

It depends on the routines that you are doing. If I did my personal chest routine twice a week I wouldn't see much growth because the muscle wouldn't have time to recover. But regardless if you are getting stronger from week to week even by a few reps then it's working. If you haven't gotten stronger in a month then you are either over training and need to back off, or you are not pushing yourself hard enough. That's assuming that you are consuming enough calories and you haven't reached the pinnacle of human capabilities.
Generally larger muscle groups (chest and legs) are worked less, not more. While smaller muscle groups like calves, abs and traps may be worked more often because they require less healing time.

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Justin Morgan

http://www.youtube.com/user/RawVegaCaliBB

Routine isn't bad, but sometimes as noted by Justin, some muscle groups fare better for recovery and growth with less work vs. more. It all depends, though - my upper back recovers VERY quickly and I can train it twice per week, but all other parts are just once per week (I'm training to maintain size and lose fat now, but otherwise, when bulking I'm changing to doing upper back only once per week again in the future). You know your body best of all, but as I've experienced, sometimes you'll get better results by doing less frequency rather than more. That was a key factor with my biceps, they grew a LOT more when I stopped doing direct arm work except 2-3 sets of DB hammer curls once every two weeks.

If you see progress, then keep at it with this plan until it fails to yield results. If it stalls out, then consider cutting back on the 2nd session for chest and biceps and maybe swap it out with deadlifts or some lower back work instead for something that would be a better option. Deadlifts will, in their own way, help your complete upper and lower back development as well as biceps, so you may find that less direct work and more "indirect" lifting can pay off big time!

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"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous

I personally keep shoulder work well away from bench press...OHP Monday/Bench press Thursday. Shoulders in general take a beating, separate shoulders & chest days (your bench press will thank you)

Bicep work twice a week? I don't think I do it once a month, biceps are very small & do not need hammering.

Aim to have an awesome workout on the main lifts & a good workout on the assistance...

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"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler